The Art of War
by Angst Is My Middle Name
Summary: Just a quick little oneshot of Jim reflecting on the experiences of himself and his crew inspired by Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War'. One little bad word... Added a small author's note at the end..


_**This just kind of came to me while chilling out in my dorm room. ****The Art of War**** was kind of just sitting out, and it got me thinking. Modern militaries still study these ideas, why wouldn't the officers in Star Trek? **_

_**And yes.. I know... I should be typing up the rest of 'The Best Ship of All'... but the chapters are uber long! And I have so many of these little oneshots just begging for attention... I promise I'll post the next chappie this weekend though!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or The Art of War. This is not praising or condemning war in any fashion. It is a creative writing idea. It was meant to be written the way it is. On with the story!**_

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"Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."

Capt. James Tiberius Kirk said: "That's bullshit." He knew he was right. He'd seen far too much of war in his five short years as captain of the _USS Enterprise_ to call it 'of vital importance'. He feels it probably should be neglected. Screw everything Sun Tzu _ever_ said. There was no need for war. Hadn't they become more civilized than that since World War III? Had billions of Vulcans being vaporized shown them nothing? Apparently not…

He was wrong to ever think glory or art could be found in this line of work.

Was there any glory or art in Spock's defeated features upon hearing his home planet would be destroyed utterly? In his outstretched arm that now reached for nothing but air? In his emotional outburst and near murder of Jim Kirk?

Was it present in 'Bones' McCoy bellowing orders at his staff during a mass medical crisis? In his frustrated tears at losing another young patient to Death after a hard fought battle? In his drunken ramblings and sobs at not being able to be home for his little daughter's birthday?

Could it be found in Uhura shrieking to be saved from a horde of primitive beings? Her tears during Spock's near death experience? Her attempted murder at the hand of a jealous crewmember?

Was there any art or glory in Chekov's gruesome nightmares of the deaths of his friends? In his terrified cries for his mother when he was horrifically wounded on an away mission? In his heartbreaking sobs upon learning of his youngest sister's death and realizing he would be unable to attend her funeral?

Was it visible in Sulu's terrified eyes as he believed himself to be falling to his death? In his blank stare after his torture on an archaic world? In his lonely and longing gazes at Chekov when he thought no one was looking?

Was it in Scotty's curses at an engineering failure resulting in the deaths of six crewmen? His sad references to the _Enterprise_ as his only lovely lady? His somber Gaelic speech to his departed lads and lassies when he was quite sure he was alone?

There certainly wasn't any art or glory in Jim's pugnacious attitude, his continuous visits to med bay, his tear-filled and medication/alcohol fueled tales of his not-so-great childhood to his best friend and CMO.

However, as he thought about it, he could maybe find a little glory and art in everything. It was in Spock's references to the captain as 'Jim' and 'my friend', in Bones' genuine smile when he spoke to his little girl Joanna, in Uhura's snarky but happy responses to Jim, in Chekov's willingness to go any away mission, in Sulu's grin when Chekov hugged him, in Scotty's joyful exclamations of the ship's abilities… and in Jim's love for his ship and his crew. It was in their camaraderie and determination to keep going even after the worst had happened.

Perhaps there was art and glory in all of it after all.

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_**There it is! Two parting statements: 1.) Reviews make incredibly happy and a great deal more willing to post the myriad stories just sitting in my notebooks... cause there are TON of them. 2.) Flames just make me sit in my chair, cuss at my computer, and call said flamer bad names. Plus, they make y****ou, the flamer, look bad. Thanks for reading!**_

**_P.S. If you want me to expand on any of these ideas, just let me know, and I promise I'll try my best!_**


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